The forest was silent. Crackling of cooling glass, that's it.
Sebastian stood at the impact crater's edge. Heat still radiating against his face, drying the sweat on his forehead instantly.
He looked down at his hands. Trembling slightly...not from fear. From the sheer, intoxicating rush of mana that had just surged through his circuits.
'5,000% damage coefficient,' Sebastian thought. His eyes narrowed as he dismissed the system notifications. Lingering things.
'And that was just Level 1 of a Forbidden Spell. If I max that out... I could crack the planet in half before the tutorial is even over.'
He turned his back on the devastation.
The Demon Wolves...creatures that would terrorize a forty-man raid group of level 5 players...were gone. Not dead. Erased.
He began the trek back to Novice Village #109.
Emerging from the tree line, the atmosphere had shifted dramatically.
Before? A chaotic hub of excitement and newbie curiosity. Now a palpable blanket of fear hung over the settlement.
The explosion in Wailing Woods had been visible from the walls. A miniature sun rising where no sun should be.
Players huddled in groups, whispering frantically.
"Did you see that?"
"Was it a glitch? The devs must be testing a nuke."
"I heard a high-level boss spawned. We're stuck in the splash zone!"
Sebastian walked through the main gate. Face a mask of indifference. His Drifter rags singed at the edges. In the crowded streets, just another face. He ignored the terrified chattering..."DragonSlayer69s" and "DarkLegolas" types. Tourists. He was a survivor.
He didn't head for the Village Chief, whose "!" marker was pulsing with frantic urgency. The Chief would undoubtedly be handing out a quest to investigate the explosion, offering a pitiful 50 copper and a pat on the back.
Sebastian had bigger fish to fry.
He navigated the winding cobblestone alleys. Moving away from the bustling market square. Into the village slums.
Architecture here was different...rotting wood, muddy streets, distinct lack of other players. Most gamers? Attracted to shiny armor shops and quest givers. Not the depressing aesthetic of virtual poverty.
He stopped in front of a dilapidated tavern.
The Rusty Bucket.
Pushing open the creaking door, he walked to the counter. The barkeep...burly NPC with a scar running down his cheek...glared at him.
"We don't serve beggars here," the barkeep grunted.
Sebastian slammed a pouch onto the counter. It contained the copper he had looted from the few wolves that hadn't been completely vaporized, along with his starter funds.
"One bottle of Moonshine," Sebastian said, his voice flat. "The vintage stuff. The one you keep under the floorboards."
The barkeep's eyes widened slightly. This was a specific dialogue trigger.
"You got a death wish, kid? That stuff is 90% ethanol. It'll melt your intestines."
"Did I ask for a health warning?" Sebastian asked coldly. "Give me the bottle."
Grumbling, the NPC reached down and produced a dust-covered bottle of clear liquid.
[Item: Old Iron's Moonshine]
[Quality: Trash/consumable]
[Effect: Causes severe intoxication. -50% Accuracy, -50% Agility for 10 minutes.
Warning: May cause permanent liver damage to character data.]
Sebastian took the bottle. Cost him nearly all his money. The return on investment?
Astronomical.
He left the tavern. Walked deeper into the alleyway, stopping at a dead end. Piles of refuse, discarded crates filled it.
There, slumped against a wall...a pile of rags. Smelled worse than the Necropolis sewers. A swarm of flies buzzed around the figure. Most players would see this as set dressing. Immersive grime added by the developers, bit of atmosphere.
Sebastian saw a legend.
"Clay," Sebastian said softly.
The pile of rags stirred. A pair of cloudy, rheumy eyes peeked out from under a hood. Grease-stained.
"Spare a coin... for a dying veteran?" the beggar rasped. Voice like grinding stones.
Sebastian didn't offer a coin. Uncorked the bottle of Moonshine. The sharp, chemical scent of high-grade alcohol instantly cut through the alley's stench.
The beggar's eyes snapped open.
Cloudiness vanished. Replaced by razor-sharp clarity that lasted only a fraction of a second before he feigned drunken stupor again.
"Is that... is that the good stuff?" Clay whispered, licking cracked lips
"It is," Sebastian said. Crouched down, eye-level with the NPC. "Not for free though."
Clay laughed, a wheezing, hacking sound. "I have nothing, boy. Just fleas and bad memories."
"I know who you are," Sebastian said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "You are Clay the Silent. The Shadow Saint. The man who slit the throat of the Orc Warlord in the Second Era."
The tension in the alleyway suddenly grew heavy. The temperature dropped five degrees. The pressure didn't come from the system; it came from the beggar.
Clay stared at him. The facade of the helpless old man evaporated. For a moment, Sebastian felt like a knife was pressed against his carotid artery, even though Clay hadn't moved a muscle.
"You know too much for a Drifter in rags," Clay said, his voice steady and dangerous. "Who sent you? The Guild? The Crown?"
"Neither," Sebastian replied, maintaining eye contact. He held out the bottle. "I'm just a man who knows the value of a drink."
Clay stared at the bottle. At Sebastian.
Tension held for a long, agonizing second. Then the old man snatched the bottle...speed defying his appearance. Took a long, desperate swig. Sighing as the burning liquid hit his stomach.
"Bah." Clay wiped his mouth. "Haven't tasted that in twenty years."
Looked at Sebastian with newfound curiosity.
[Hidden Quest Triggered: The Beggar's Test]
[Difficulty: Impossible (S-Rank)]
[Description: You have uncovered the identity of the former Assassin Saint. He is intrigued, but not convinced. To earn his legacy, you must prove you have the hands of a thief.]
[Objective: Steal the Mayor's Signet Ring and his Black Ledger from the Town Hall vault.]
[Restriction: If you are detected, you will be executed by the guards and banned from the village.]
[Accept?]
Sebastian smiled. In his past life, unlocking this quest required a fifty-step chain involving fetching rare herbs and grinding reputation for months. He had bypassed it all with a 50-copper bottle of booze and meta-knowledge.
"The Mayor is a corrupt pig," Sebastian said. "He's been taxing the blacksmiths double and pocketing the difference. I assume that's why you want the Ledger?"
Clay cackled. "Sharp. Very sharp. The Ring is the key to his authority. The Ledger is the nail in his coffin. Bring them to me, Drifter. Then we'll talk about... techniques."
"Consider it done," Sebastian said, standing up.
"Wait," Clay called out as Sebastian turned to leave. "The Town Hall is guarded by Level 15 Elites. They have True Sight wards. You can't just walk in there."
Sebastian paused, looking back over his shoulder. "I don't plan to walk in, Clay. I plan to walk through."
He left the alley, the mission log pulsating in his vision.
He needed a skill.
The Drifter class had access to all skill trees, but the cost was triple. For a normal player, buying a Rogue skill would be financial suicide. For Sebastian, it was Tuesday.
He opened the Global Skill Shop interface. While advanced skills had to be found in dungeons, basic Tier-0 skills could be bought anywhere.
[Skill Book: Basic Sneak]
[Cost: 100 Copper]
He didn't have the money. He had spent it on the booze.
'Right,' Sebastian thought. 'Need quick cash.'
He looked around. A player named "Merchant_Bob" was setting up a stall nearby, selling starter potions.
Sebastian walked up to him. "I'll sell you a Wolf Fang for 100 copper."
"Wolf Fang?" Bob scoffed. "Those drop from Level 5 wolves. Nobody is killing Level 5 wolves yet. Scram, noob."
Sebastian reached into his inventory and pulled out a charred, smoking fang he had looted from the crater. It still radiated heat.
"This," Sebastian said, "is a fang from the pack that got nuked in the woods. It's a collector's item."
Bob's eyes bugged out. "You... you were there? You survived that?"
"100 copper. Now."
Bob fumbled with his pouch, handing over the coins. He didn't care about the stats; he wanted the bragging rights of owning loot from the "Mystery Explosion."
[Transaction Complete: +100 Copper.]
Sebastian immediately opened the shop interface.
[Purchase: Basic Sneak.]
[Ding! Skill Learned: Basic Sneak (Lv 1).]
[Effect: Slightly reduces the sound of your footsteps. -10% Aggro Range.]
It was a garbage skill. A stiff breeze would break the stealth.
Sebastian walked toward the Town Hall, a massive stone building in the center of the district. Guards in shining iron armor stood at the entrance.
[NPC: Town Guard]
[Level: 15 (Elite)]
One hit from them would deal 500 damage. Sebastian had 120 HP.
He stood in the shadow of a nearby building and focused on his skill tree.
[Available SP: ∞]
"Let's see how deep the shadows go," Sebastian whispered.
He pressed the upgrade button.
[Ding! Basic Sneak Lv 10... Evolution!]
[Skill: Shadow Step (Tier 1). Evolution available.]
"Keep going."
[Ding! Shadow Step Lv 50... Evolution!]
[Skill: Ghost Walk (Tier 2). Evolution available.]
"More."
He poured thousands of points into the skill. The icon shifted from a simple boot, to a hooded figure, to a swirling vortex of purple and black energy.
[Ding! You have surpassed the mortal limit for Stealth.]
[Constructing Law of Shadows...]
[Evolution Complete.]